1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for detecting pipe wall thinning and a method thereof, and more particularly, to an apparatus for detecting pipe wall thinning, which is capable of detecting and analyzing a change in a natural frequency of a pipe and thus inspecting the wall thinning of the pipe, and a method thereof.
2. Discussion of Related Art
In facilities, cases in which wall thinning and fracture of pipes occur according to deterioration of the pipes installed in the initial construction have been reported. In particular, since the Mihama nuclear power plant accident due to the wall thinning and fracture of pipes, an interest in a technique for finding pipe wall thinning has increased.
In power plants, to find pipe wall thinning, a thickness measurement technique using an ultrasonic thickness indicator is widely used on the spot. However, such a measurement technique takes a lot of time because a plurality of measuring points distributed on a pipe surface should be measured one by one. If the plurality of measuring points are not measured, the reliability of the results of a measurement is degraded.
Therefore, high attention is placed on a technique capable of maintaining the accuracy of the pipe thickness measurement and rapidly checking whether the pipe wall thinning occurs, as compared with an existing technique. Further, by primarily rapidly finding the pipe wall thinning and a level thereof, selecting a pipe in which wall thinning will be precisely monitored according to such a process, and then continuously and concentrically monitoring the selected pipe, it is possible to increase monitoring efficiency of the wall thinning and also to enhance safety of the equipment, as compared with the existing wall thinning measuring technique.